"What on earth is going on...."
Locke sat down helplessly on top of the stone pillar, wearing a dazed expression. The others were no different.
A sinister man had suddenly appeared and tried to kill them, and then another unfamiliar man showed up, and now they were fighting each other.
Then, with a gesture from the ash-gray man, the ground surged up and placed them atop the stone pillar—as if to keep them from escaping.
We only came here for a goblin subjugation...
As everyone stood there stunned with similar thoughts, Iris was the first to come to her senses and touched the stone pillar.
'This is... Terrain Manipulation? Just how is something of this scale even possible....'
It far exceeded the power she knew. To create a stone pillar of this size in an instant would require a mage with a computation capacity of at least Fourth-Tier. On top of that, it would require several times the amount of magic power used in a typical Third-Tier spell.
Nothing about this could be measured on Iris's level.
She cautiously leaned her head over the edge.
The man who had introduced himself as Sergen was facing off in mid-air against the ash-gray man. She couldn't hear what they were saying.
And then, a scene unfolded before her eyes—one that would be forever etched in her memory.
Lightning-type.
Even at the Academy, there were fewer than ten people, professors included, who could handle that element. And yet, it was now being wielded by a mage she had never even heard of.
Moreover, it was even more intense than the lightning magic she had seen at the Academy.
'Amazing....'
Regardless of the situation, she couldn't help but be in awe—as a mage.
The next spell she witnessed was just as astonishing.
"Triple Casting...?!"
And not just any spell—three completely different elemental types.
Iris knew just how difficult that was. Not even most well-known mages could manage it, let alone imitate it.
She stared blankly at the ash-gray man, her fear momentarily forgotten.
Other adventurers slowly edged closer to her, swallowing nervously as they witnessed the merciless barrage of magic.
Thud!
The fight ended when the mage crushed the man's head. After rummaging through the corpse as if searching for something, the mage turned his head.
Their eyes met.
She quickly ducked out of sight—but it was too late, she'd already been seen.
Rumble.
The stone pillar began to slowly lower.
***
Verden looked at the cowering adventurers and fell into thought.
He hadn't exactly meant to save them, but that was how it had ended up. Still, he couldn't recall a clear reason why he had been here in the first place.
'Wait. Do I even need to explain myself?'
There was no need. He had gotten the information he wanted, and even picked up some valuable magical items.
He didn't have any particular business with the adventurers—there was no need to get involved further.
Verden glanced sideways at Iris and turned his back. It didn't look like there was anything more to gain from the corpse, either.
Just as he took a step toward the cave exit without a word, a voice called out.
"Um... th-thank you."
What could she be thanking him for? Probably for the goodwill of saving their lives.
She must have realized from Verden's demeanor that he had no intention of harming them. Though faint traces of caution and fear still lingered on her face.
'...They must be adventurers from Martes.'
The city of Martes. Verden's destination.
Even though he had done some prior research, all he really knew about Martes was that it had a large library. He had had the chance to gather more intel in the baron's domain, but raising his tier was far more important.
Since the duchy was a peaceful land, he figured it was more efficient to see it in person than to hear about it a hundred times.
'Besides, having a guide would be helpful.'
His thoughts changed.
Verden turned back toward the adventurers. Iris flinched as his gaze landed on her.
"Did you, by any chance, accept a goblin subjugation request from the village at the foot of the mountain?"
"Huh? Ah, yes. That's right. They said the goblins were damaging the livestock pens..."
"The villagers told me. Apparently, there was some strange monster other than goblins, but they didn't report it to the guild because they didn't want to waste money."
"...?"
"I don't know much about adventurer stuff, but that sounds like a serious problem..."
Iris blinked.
When making a request to the adventurer guild, hiding information was considered a serious offense.
It was one of the minimum protections in place for adventurers who risked their lives. But the actual standards were rather vague—people could always just claim they didn't know.
Either way, if something like that occurred, the requester was obligated to pay additional compensation.
But that was only if an amicable agreement was reached. If the requester insisted they had no idea, the guild would have a headache on their hands. Especially since there often wasn't any physical evidence.
However, if someone could testify—someone credible and persuasive—then it would be a different story.
If the testimony proved true, the guild would set a value for the adventurers' lives, and the requester would be forced to pay it.
If they didn't have enough money, their assets would be seized through forced execution. If that wasn't enough, they'd be arrested and sent to forced labor.
Because it was so hard to prove, the penalties were harsh. After all, this was about the adventurer guild's precious assets—and people's lives.
But why was he bringing this up?
As Iris stared with uncertainty, Verden glanced at Sergen's corpse.
"You said thank you to me, didn't you?"
"...Yes."
Iris nodded and swallowed nervously.
Sure, repaying a life debt was the right thing to do, but she had no idea what he might demand.
'No way... he's not going to ask for something weird, is he?'
As anxiety built up among Iris and her companions, Verden said blandly,
"I'll take the gratitude in money."
Practicality.
The wandering mage wanted money.
***
After finishing the subjugation and returning to the village, Iris's party headed straight to the village chief.
At their grim expressions and cold tone, the chief swallowed nervously.
'It's fine. I'll just say I didn't know.'
He had made sure the villagers would keep their mouths shut. Since it involved their wallets, they wouldn't say a word.
Sitting across from the adventurers, the chief spoke calmly.
"Thank you for your hard work. Thanks to you, we've rid ourselves of the goblins. Here's the promised commission."
He placed a crumpled bundle of bills on the desk. Iris, the party leader, stared at the money in silence.
The sudden silence made the chief ask cautiously,
"Um... is there a problem...?"
"It's not enough."
"Excuse me?"
The village chief furrowed his brows and quickly snatched up the money. He counted it again, but the amount was correct.
He showed the bills off, as if to prove a point, but Iris's demeanor remained firm.
"What exactly are you trying to pull here? The amount matches what's written in the contract, so how could it be lacking...?"
"Hunter."
Huh? That one word made the chief's heart sink.
"You didn't record the unidentified monster that the hunter witnessed, did you?"
"I-I don't know what you're talking about─"
"Denying it won't help. We already have the testimony. Should I report it to the guild? If an investigator shows up, you won't be able to play dumb anymore."
Faced with her confidence, the chief clamped his mouth shut.
He was terrified. He had just wanted to save a little money along with the villagers, and now he was facing criminal charges at his age. He hated the thought of it.
'Who the hell…?'
The chief soon gave up. Still, there was a way out.
If punishment had been the goal, the adventurers in front of him would've already taken the commission and gone to the city to report it.
"W-what do you want?"
Iris left just one word.
"Money."
***
Having emptied the village chief's storeroom, Iris's party headed for the city.
And just as promised, they met Verden along the way and handed over a whopping 1.2 million Elk in cash. It didn't feel like a waste. Without him, they never would've known that information had been hidden from them.
Verden handed back a portion of it to Iris.
"This is...?"
"I'm not giving it to you for free."
It was a sort of commission fee.
Even if he had saved them by chance, he had no intention of ordering her around for free.
For simply acting as a guide in the city, it was an immense amount of money. Iris, seeing no reason to refuse, cautiously accepted it.
Thus began an awkward companionship. The adventurers naturally kept some distance from Verden, murmuring among themselves.
"Hey, so what's the deal with this money?"
"Well... he said he'd give us this if I guided him through the city..."
"What? And he's paying this much? I don't get it..."
At Mirna's words, both Locke and Mild nodded.
To them, Verden was both a savior—and a suspicious person.
Why had he been in that cave? What had he talked about with the dead man? No one knew. There were too many things left unexplained.
And the way he ruthlessly killed a man with magic... it was terrifying enough to haunt their dreams. For adventurers who were still new to the path, it had been a traumatizing sight.
'Still, I don't think he's a bad person.'
A handsome mage, with top-class talent, unmatched even by the Academy where the world's finest gathered.
Iris looked at Verden's back and made up her mind.
"I'll be right back."
"Huh? Older Sister?"
Striding forward, Iris approached Verden, who was walking ahead. His blue eyes, like condensed magic power, met hers.
"What is it?"
"Um, well, it's just that..."
Hoo. She took a small breath and clenched her fist.
"Could you teach me some magic?"
...?
Verden was momentarily speechless at the absurd request.
***
'So that's all it was.'
To be precise, she wasn't asking to be taught magic directly, but rather if he could answer some questions about magical theory.
Of course. Learning magic while walking would be ridiculous, especially when even a few months of focused study wouldn't be enough.
Verden readily nodded.
He was a little bored anyway, and if there was one thing he was confident in, it was magical theory. Especially in the elemental field, his specialty—few professors could match him.
With his permission, Iris, like a fish in water, began bombarding him with questions about all sorts of theories she had been studying.
None of it was particularly complex. They were fundamental theories—just the minimum one needed to qualify for entrance into the magic tower.
Verden and Iris.
Though they hadn't known each other long, the sight of the two chatting drew worried glances from her party. Still, since Iris seemed happy, they decided not to interfere.
...Before they knew it, they had arrived at the city of Martes.
First, Iris's party decided to visit the guild. They needed to report the Jester Goblin inside the cave, and the man named Sergen who had tried to kill them.
"So it might take a while..."
"Then let's meet tomorrow afternoon."
Verden planned to stay at the most expensive inn in the city. He had plenty of money, and more importantly, the chicken he'd eaten in the previous village had been traumatizing. He never wanted to taste something like that again.
After getting the name and location of the inn from Iris, he parted ways with her party.
Walking down the main street, Verden took in the view of the city. It was larger than he had expected.
'With a size like this, there's probably a bank.'
With bounty money included, he was carrying over tens of millions in cash.
Carrying that on his person made him uneasy in many ways, but this city was a stroke of luck.
Magic requires money.
Moreover, as someone from the magic tower, where money was spent like water, Verden knew the importance of money better than anyone.
Bounty collection, and bank account registration.
Those were the things Verden had to do before heading to the inn.